Recently Read Books, Food Origins, American Movie, etc.

In which I highly encourage you to embrace the weird.

🤘 Got some good stuff at Record Store Day this year.

📺 Been doing some blogging as of late. Wrote some brief notes on TV I’ve watched over the last year.

📚 …also talked about books I’ve recently read.

🎥 Recently re-watched and would recommend the wonderfully weird documentary American Movie.

🖼️ Something I learned watching Jeopardy. The Answer: this breakfast pastry’s name comes from a ’60s art movement.

🌘 In 1978, a then-brand new high school science teacher in Rochester, NY told his students about the eclipse that would be occurring in 2024, offering to watch it with them. He did this every year of his career, and over 100 cashed in on his promise.

📸 Speaking of said eclipse, Jason Kottke rounded up a thorough list of the best photos and videos taken. Paraphrasing my friend Travis, it was great to see people treat the eclipse like it was a national holiday, everyone collectively doing something at the same time.

🦕 In Australia, a young researcher has helped identify 12 new species of dinosaurs, scanning over 500 bones during Covid lockdown that were dug up over the course of 15 years.

🍌 Why Jesus never would have had a banana. “Since the mid-20th century, diets around the world have become more diverse and more homogenous, with supermarkets and other retail outlets the world over increasingly offering a similar range of food options.”

🏍️ Here is some good advice for anyone that’s knocked over a row of motorcycle gang’s motorcycles, again.

🙂 I will leave you with better advice: embrace the weird. “The other day I was complaining to a friend how I've been spinning my wheels lately, having trouble finding any projects or gigs I could work on. He came back with a quick, short, smart response: ‘Who cares? Just make weird shit.’”